What It Means To Fall
by TiredandUninspired2013
Summary: In the gang world, Zoro's more than just famous. But when territory wars are raging and he keeps seeing that girl, it isnt just a gang and territory war anymore. R
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

His dull black boots stopped right in front of a large crack on the ground. He looked in front of him where other regular people were just walking back and forth, across the crack not knowing or caring what it meant to him. Zoro quickly turned toward the street, looking at the cars coming his way as he quickly j-walked onto the other side of the street. The grey skies just started to let rain drops fall as he dove into a small coffee shop. He pulled off his hood and sat on a stool under a counter table on the window.

A shop worker walked up to him. She leaned her elbow on the table and held a pen and paper in her hand.

She clicked the pen three times.

"Hey Zoro, long time no see," she grinned and pushed a few strands of curly hair behind her ear.

Zoro looked up and moved his torso to face hers, "Hey Riko," he sighed, "Can I have the usual?"

Riko smiled, "Sure thing,"

"You know, it's a shame you ever got involved with us. It's not your fight. It's not your problem. I know Luffy's glad to be with you, but you're just putting yourself in danger,"

Riko laughed, "Zoro, don't you worry about me," she put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips, "Besides, I'm a big girl now and I can fend for myself," she started talking normally again, "But seriously, I love all of you guys. It's worth it. I'll get you your drink kay?" she squeezed his arm and walked back behind the cashier counter and made Zoro's coffee. She brought it to him and then went right back to take other customers' orders.

As Zoro sipped his coffee he looked out the window into the rain, he saw a girl standing in black cargo pants and a dark maroon hoodie. Her long, messy black hair falling out of her hood covered her face, but he could see she was soaking wet from the rain. She had her arms crossed and was shivering. Zoro wondered if he should go and come take her into the coffee shop, but it only seemed like he blinked and she disappeared. Only after she was gone, did he realize she was on the other side of that crack.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: We do not and will never own One Piece or the characters...so no one sue us. **  
**Our OC pairings are not meant to insult or be in anyway bad (?O.o) so yeahh...**  
**I'm not very good at writing these things but LiveLieLove made me _ **  
**I hope you enjoy our little story :D**

* * *

After the rain stopped, Zoro got up to go back to his apartment. He stayed at the coffee shop so late that when he started walking, he could see the moon shining dully through the broken clouds.

Riko turned out the lights and locked up before running after him, "Hey! Don't leave me all alone," she called out as she ran after him, her feet catching a few puddle and splashing.

Zoro stopped and looked back at her, "I thought Luffy would come pick you up,"

"Well he would've picked you up too. But I called and said I'd walk home with you. You live right across the hall,"

Zoro shoved his hands in his pockets and felt around for the Love Knot his mother made him before…before the territory war started.  
He was shaken from his thoughts as a pair of car lights sped towards them. It slowed and stopped in front of them. A small, black Prius stood humming by their side. The passenger side window opened and a grinning face leaned closer to them.

"Luffy! Hey I was on my way home with Zoro," Riko leaned into the car.

"It's late. I didn't wanna make you walk. Or Zoro," he smiled and unlocked the car.

Riko opened the passenger door and the side, "Come on then Zoro. You want a ride home?"

Zoro smiled, "Thanks, but I think I'll walk. I need some time to think,"

"Oh, alright," Riko closed the passenger door and stepped in next to Luffy, "Get home safe alright? I won't be able to get a good night's sleep without hearing you come back home, you know."

Zoro gave her a grin, "I promise." He saw Luffy and Riko lean in before they drove off. He gripped the Love Knot in his pocket again and started walking.

Hardly anyone was out. Just about all the shops were closed and streetlights were flickering. There were a couple of drug dealers lurking deep in the darkness of back alleys, and a couple of dog walkers making sure not to stray too far from their homes and apartments this late. He pulled over the hood of his faded olive green hoodie and sighed. He looked down at his feet as he walked. Stepping on every break in the sidewalk there was. He came to a corner and turned, his head still down. Zoro blinked and he bumped into someone walking the opposite way.

He looked up and saw the girl he saw earlier in the day. She was still a little wet from the rain and her hood fell off as she fell. Her long messy hair fell away from her face as she looked up and her dark eyes pierced Zoro like the gun shots that he still remembered from his childhood. He held out his hand and pulled down his hood, "Sorry,"

She took his hand and dusted off the back of her pants, "No worries,"

"What were you doing out in the rain?" he asked, not being able to think of anything else to say.

"What are you talking about?" she looked genuinely confused, "I was at home all day."

Zoro scratched his head, "Oh, well I…,"

The girl pulled her hood over her head and crossed her arms tightly around her, "I have to go," she rushed past him.

Zoro turned his head and looked down the street he just walked down. The girl was already so far that he could hardly make out her shape, she was so small.

_What does she do fly?_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: We do not and will never own One Piece or the characters...so no one sue us. **  
**Our OC pairings are not meant to insult or be in anyway bad (?O.o) so yeahh...**  
**I'm not very good at writing these things but LiveLieLove made me _ **  
**I hope you enjoy our little story :D**

* * *

Zoro ran the rest of the way home. He didn't want to be outside anymore. Not that he didn't feel safe, it was just that, for the second time in his life, he felt confused in a way that just made him feel angry, and scared, not just for himself, for that girl and for his friends too. He was sweating by the time he got to the apartment complex. He walked in and ran up the narrow stairs into his hallway. He shuffled for his keys in his pockets. The only things there were his pocket knife, the love knot, and his wallet.

"Shit!" he punched the drywall at the side of his door and covered his eyes. He sighed and turned to knock on Riko and Luffy's door. As he heard footsteps coming to the door, he steadied himself on the doorframe.

Inside, Riko galloped to the front door and looked through the eyehole.

"Who is it?" Luffy called.

"Zoro of course! He looks bad though," she opened the door, "Hey Zoro, what's wrong?" she reached out and touched his arm.

He looked up and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his jacket sleeve, "Oh, I just left my keys at home, so, could I get the spare key I left with you guys?"

Riko smiled sadly and left the door open as she disappeared back into the house, "Yeah, one sec."

Luffy came to the door and patted Zoro on the shoulder, "Hey. What happened? You look…off,"

"Nothing, I'm fine really, I just…forgot my key," he grew more and more angry with himself with every word that left his mouth. Was he really so weak and spineless that he couldn't even tell his best friends what was wrong?

Luffy nodded, "Ok well, I'm here, Riko's here, if you ever need us,"

Zoro nodded and looked up as Riko came back into the doorway. She handed him a silver key that seemed small in his large hands, "Here you go,"

"Thanks, hold on, I'll get it back after I unlock the door," Zoro turned and opened his apartment and then handed the key back, "You know, I'm glad to live across the hall from you guys."

"We'll always be here for you Zoro," Riko smiled, "It'll be nice when you get a girl living with you in that neat apartment of yours," she winked.

Zoro laughed, "Me? I doubt it,"

"Aw come on Zoro. You're so loveable! I don't know why you don't have a girlfriend now,"

Zoro smirked, "Well I'm apparently not as loveable as Luffy,"

Riko stuck her tongue out, "That's different," she laughed and skipped back inside, "Goodnight Zoro!"

"Goodnight Riko!" he shouted before nodding to Luffy, "Goodnight Luffy,"

"Everything will be alright," Luffy smiled and headed back inside.

Zoro sighed and locked the door after he got inside his apartment. He flipped the light switch and the wall lights in his living room lit up. He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling a beer out of the bottom shelf and leftovers from the takeout he had the night before. He heated up the food and took a swig of the drink before turning on the TV and flopping down on the couch. Zoro muted the TV as he ate and watched the people's mouths move as the screen changed pictures every few seconds. He realized, at this moment, that he didn't spend too much time in his house. He was always out on the streets, walking, breathing, and just being. But never lying around on the couch really. He worked out of course, usually early in the morning. But even that was by an open fire escape window. He needed fresh air to do so. Zoro looked around his apartment and took in the dull, olive green walls and the fluorescent white sconces. He took in the polished wooden floorboards and dark coffee table in front of him. He felt the soft couch hug him loosely and heard the buzz of his refrigerator hum low.

Zoro finished his dinner and washed his plate and left it in the sink. He turned off the lights and flicked off the TV. It was already 11 o'clock and Zoro had never felt more tired yet restless. He washed his face and brushed his teeth and stripped to his undershirt and boxers. He climbed slowly into bed and looked out of his window and looked at the not so smug sky on that night and felt his eyes grow heavy as he started to fall into deep sleep. But soon, his sleep became more shallow as he began dreaming of what happened all those years ago. The night his mother was killed.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: We do not and will never own One Piece or the characters...so no one sue us. **  
**Our OC pairings are not meant to insult or be in anyway bad (?O.o) so yeahh...**  
**I'm not very good at writing these things but LiveLieLove made me _ **  
**I hope you enjoy our little story :D**

_

* * *

__Zoro was eight. He had just gotten home from playing soccer with his friends. It had just started to rain. He locked the door behind him and dumped his muddy shoes on the tiles behind the door. The apartment was dark and seemed quiet, except for the hum of their old refrigerator. _

"_Mom?" he walked through the apartment slowly, the only thing he was hearing now, was his heartbeat. He opened his bedroom door. It was the same as when he left it that morning, which was strange, because usually his bed was made and his clothes were picked up during the day. His mom always did that for him. He went through the hallway down to his parents' bedroom. He opened the door, and it looked like they were sleeping._

"_Mom? Dad?" but as he got closer, he saw they weren't moving. He saw the sheets stained with dark liquid and ran to the side of the bed. His mother laid there, unmoving. Thick, dark red blood ran from the exit wound on her head and onto the pillow and the floor. He ran to the other side. His dad, hardly breathing._

"_Dad! You're hurt! Mom's hurt!" he cried. His dad pulled him close._

"_He's still here, Zoro," his dad whispered and spit a bit of blood onto Zoro's face, "Take the gun from the nightstand. He's still here,"_

_Zoro's eyes widened as his dad stopped breathing. He heard footsteps coming from the hallway. The gun. He opened the drawer in the night side table and found the silver revolver in the secret place his dad showed him. He clicked back the hammer. He placed his finger on the trigger and pointed it at the door. _

_A tall man in a black cloak stepped through the door. He was wearing a blood red bandana and had a shot gun in his hand. He looked at Zoro and started to point the gun at him. _

_Zoro was shaking, but as soon as he saw the gun coming towards him, he started shooting. He closed his eyes, but he heard the bullets hitting the man and then, he heard a body hit the floor. But he couldn't stop shooting. Even after all the bullets were gone, he kept pulling the trigger._

_Click, click , click…_

Zoro woke up in a sweat. It was morning and his sheets were drenched. But something was strange. He kept hearing clicking in his house. Someone was here. He jumped lightly off his bed and grabbed the switchblade off his desk and headed into the living room. He looked into the space and saw the intruder. It was the same girl he bumped into yesterday. She was wearing heels. He stepped out and held his knife out at her. She was wearing _their colors._

"How did you get here?" He demanded.

She turned around and showed him the barrel of her gun, "You should know better than to bring a switchblade to gun fight, Zoro," she winked and giggled.

_What the hell does this girl think is so funny?_


	5. Chapter 5

****

A/N: We do not and will never own One Piece or the characters...so no one sue us.

**Our OC pairings are not meant to insult or be in anyway bad (?O.o) so yeahh...**  
**I'm not very good at writing these things but LiveLieLove made me _ **  
**I hope you enjoy our little story :D**

* * *

Zoro dropped his knife and she lowered her gun.

"What are you doing here? Who are you?" Zoro demanded in a low voice.

"How rude Zoro," her voice seemed to dance around the room, "Asking so many questions…and to a _girl_?"

"I don't have time for this…aren't you _one of them?_" Zoro pointed to her maroon tank top under her black leather jacket. But he could also see the tattoo of a circle with a slash through it on her arm. The insignia of _their _gang.

She nodded, "I wanted to get a better look at the man who killed my father,"

Zoro's eyes widened, but his brows furrowed again, "You're _his _daughter? Your father killed my parents…all I did was give him a taste of his own medicine,"

She flipped her gun in her hand, "My father was one of the most powerful man on these streets. And you killed him, when you were _eight_. There were some people that respected him. Some people feared him. Some people wanted to kill him, but you beat them to it. So now they want to kill you. As well as everyone in the gang…but I don't,"

"Really? Why are you on our turf? If Luffy and Riko were here-"

"I don't really care about your gang buddies. My brother is the leader of our gang now. He wants to kill you most of all. And he's letting every single ally we have know it. You're little gang is in for a hell of a ride. He's been plotting against you since he was put up as our head honcho. He doesn't know where you live…yet. I sneak out here when I can. Tell him I'm gonna go sell some dope or buy some. But I'm straight…and so are you…in fact, I don't think anyone in your brigade is a druggie huh?"

Zoro shook his head and tried not to wipe the sweat off his forehead. He was getting nervous.

The girl nodded, "That's good. You shouldn't head into the middle of the flames without a clear head. Here," she tossed him the gun, "It's yours right?"

Zoro looked at it and sighed, "Yeah…" he looked up and she was climbing out his window onto the fire escape, "WAIT!"

She tucked her head back in. "Yeah?"

"Why are you telling me all this? Giving me warnings? You're part of them…why don't _you want me dead?"_

She shrugged, "I dunno. I think you're cute…I don't wanna see you dead,"

Zoro blushed and looked down for a second.

"Anything else?" She grinned.

"What's your name?"

She laughed and stepped out, leaning down, her hands on the window, ready to close it, "You can call me Autumn," she smiled and closed the window as she flung over the stairs and headed back to her side of town. She thought about how she couldn't tell him the truth about why she was helping him…not yet. She could see in his eyes that he didn't completely trust her. All she needed was patience.

* * *

**OK sorry for the short chapter...  
sorry for the slight lateness also...time flies when you don't really do anything XD  
But yeah I hope you guys keep reading! I'm so glad to have such loyal readers from all  
over the world! It makes me so happy TTwwwTT  
I will write more and hopefully update either over the weekend or at the beginning of  
next week so WATCH OUT FOR THE 6TH CHAPTER! **

**Enjoy,  
TiredandUninspired2013****  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: We do not and will never own One Piece or the characters...so no one sue us. **  
**Our OC pairings are not meant to insult or be in anyway bad (?O.o) so yeahh...**  
**I'm not very good at writing these things but LiveLieLove made me _ **  
**I hope you enjoy our little story :D**

* * *

Autumn opened the heavy door of the abandoned church and closed it as quietly as she could, but even the quietest sounds echoed incessantly throughout the entire building. She cringed as the door made a heavy, low thud as it closed.

"AUTUMN!" she recognized her brother's voice coming from the Nave, the space where those who used to come to the church would gather for worship. As she entered the room, she saw her brother sitting in the left front row pew, "Come sit with me, sister,"

She did as she was told. No one reigned supreme over her brother…not in this gang. Autumn could not say that she got special treatment from her brother. She was his own flesh and blood. The only family he had left. He wasn't going to jeopardize her life. But if he ever found out that she was sneaking across the boarder…well, she didn't know _what _he would do. She sat next to her brother, trying not to seem nervous.

"Hi Nicoll,"

"You know, I've been sitting in here all day, praying to god for guidance," he said without looking at her, "Max told me there was someone in our family that has been sneaking across the border,"

_Stupid Max…he's such a little snitch_, Autumn thought to herself. But that was Max's job. He was the youngest in the gang, or family, as Nicoll liked to call it. Max and everyone else in the family had to call Nicoll Phoenix though. Autumn knew her brother was very vain, but he thought it was appropriate. So everyone, with an exception towards Autumn, had to call him that. Despite being his sister, Autumn was not in anyway Nicoll's right had man. That was Carroll, Autumn and Nicoll's cousin. Carroll was older than both of them, but he was loyal to his uncle, Autumn and Nicoll's father, after his father died, and Nicoll asked that they take him in. So when Nicoll took over, Carroll continued to help him without a single complaint. He didn't talk much, and he did most of Nicoll's dirty work, but also acted as a sort of body guard. A couple of times in the past, there were people that came to where their gang was hiding out to try to kill both Autumn and Nicoll, but Carroll had been there to stop them .

Focusing back on the conversation, Autumn tried to act as though it wasn't her, "So what will you do about it?"

But she couldn't fool her brother, "I'm going to have Carroll guard you for a while. I know he feels a sense of loyalty to you too, but he won't defy me. What are you doing over in _their _territory. It's dangerous for you," he took a breath and pierced her with his dark and tired eyes, "Roronoa Zoro lives over there. What reason does he have to not take you hostage? Or even kill you?"

Autumn furrowed her brows, "I know what I'm doing…I can look after myself,"

"Go to your room," Nicoll got up from the pew and put on his jacket, "You won't be going _anywhere _without Carroll by your side," he started to walk out.

"You're not my mother Nicoll!" Autumn stood up, her voice echoing around the Nave.

Nicoll turned on his heels and took long, sharp strides back to her. He grabbed her by the front of her jacket and pulled her close to him, "If anyone else in our gang had been sneaking out to the other side of this town, without talking to anyone here about it…without bringing back information or money from selling Mocha's crack, or bringing her drugs, they would be put on trail and almost indefinitely convicted with treason and there would be a reason to believe that they are spitting out information about us to our enemies. But because you're my sister, I'm letting you slide without a scratch on your pretty face," he let her go, "Carroll is waiting outside,"

"This isn't some monarchy that you're the king of Nicoll. People can make their own decisions,"

"Not if you want to be in this gang, sometimes not if you want to live," he ran his fingers through his hair, "And not if you want to make enemies that you don't need on your back,"

Autumn was frustrated, but she knew that arguing with her brother would only cause more turmoil for her. Zoro didn't completely trust her yet, and she wasn't ready to lose the only family she had left. She stormed out of the Nave beating her brother out the door. She stopped outside the door and looked up at Carroll. He was a very tall person. He was also very strong, as one could see, his muscles rising prominently out of his black stitched, blood red sweater. He was very young, not older than twenty-three. A strong face and a buzz cut added to his tough look. But Autumn knew him better. He wasn't just what he appeared to be. He was very kind and warm hearted. That didn't take away from her upset feelings though. Compared to Carroll, Autumn felt much smaller than she actually was. She was taller than most of the people she had known all her life. She was just as tall as her brother, and slightly shorter than Zoro, but with Carroll, who stood at six foot four, she felt like a little kid again. She turned to go up the spiraling staircase to where her room was. Carroll followed her silently and stood outside her door like a guard at the Buckingham palace in England, his arms crossed and his stoic face. He seemed unmovable.

Autumn stopped in her doorway, "What will you do about sleep Carroll? I don't want you to lose sleep over me,"

Carroll looked down at her and gave her a small smile, "Don't worry about it, we've got sleep taken care of," he ruffled her hair as the smile faded back to a serious face, "I'm sorry about this, but you're brother is just trying to keep you safe,"

She sighed and squeezed his arm, "Yeah, yeah, yeah," Autumn flopped on her bed and thought about Zoro and when she'd be able to see him again. If Max knew exactly where she'd been going, Zoro, and his friends, were going to be in some trouble very soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: We do not and will never own One Piece or the characters...so no one sue us. **  
**Our OC pairings are not meant to insult or be in anyway bad (?O.o) so yeahh...**  
**I'm not very good at writing these things but LiveLieLove made me _ **  
**I hope you enjoy our little story :D**

* * *

Autumn woke up to the sound of Carroll switching out posts with another one of their gang members, Jay. And Jay was probably the loudest member of their gang. Autumn could hear him bounding up the stairs before she saw him.

"Hey! Hey Carroll! Phoenix wants you to go with him and Reese and Milo and Max on a…" he took a deep breath before putting up air-quotes, "…mission,"

Carroll put his finger up to his lip, "Autumn is asleep. Would you _please _try to be more quiet?"

Jay nodded violently and looked at Autumn who was now faking to still be asleep. He smiled as Carroll walked quietly down the stairs. He took Carroll's spot and hummed random notes as he swayed on his heels and toes.

_Shit! A "mission"? Max must've found out where I'd been going. Dammit! I have to do something…_

She silently hopped off her bed and went to the nearest window, but when she tried to lift it up, she saw that it had been nailed shut. All the windows in her room were. So far, the only options she had about getting out, was doing it loud, and fast.

* * *

Riko was walking to the coffee shop to sign off the delivery men for more supplies. As she walked down the block, she felt good weaving her way between the people walking on the sidewalk with her. The sun was out and it felt like it was going to a good day. But as she got closer to her shop, she saw the people walking by were giving it puzzled looks. She jogged until she was in front of it and gasped at what she saw. Her windows and door were tagged with red and black graffiti. The symbol of their rival gang was drawn in the center of all the slander. There was a broken part in her biggest window with a rock laying on the counter. She reached through the broken glass and took the rock out. A note was attached. She unfolded the piece of paper and read it.

_Get ready for hell._

Riko flipped out her phone and called Luffy.

"Hey Riko,"

"LUFFY!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"They trashed the shop! I think Zoro might be in danger, and maybe the rest of us too!"

"Ok, don't worry I'm gonna come pick you up right now," she could hear him running out the door and down the stairs, "Make sure you stay around people. How about I pick you up at the book store on the corner?"

"Alright. I'll see you soon," Riko wondered if Zoro was ok…

* * *

Zoro felt his phone buzz in his pocket just as he was nodding off on the roof of the apartment complex after his workout. For some reason he expected it to be Autumn, but it was Luffy.

"Hey,"

"Hey Zoro, they trashed Riko's coffee shop," Luffy said urgently.

"What?" Zoro sat up.

"Yeah, I'm going to pick her up now. She said they might come after us,"

"That's ridiculous, they don't know where we live," Zoro tried to convince him otherwise.

"Well they know where the coffee shop is. Anything could happen," Luffy said flatly.

Zoro smacked his hand to his forehead and sighed, "Alright, ok. We'll figure this out. Would you two come over to my place when you get her?"

"Yeah sure, is everyone else gonna be there too?"

"If they know where I live, it'll turn into too big of a brawl. I just wanted to tell you guys something, hopefully they won't come when you guys are here,"

"We got your back Zoro. See you in a few,"

Zoro clicked off the phone and stood up. He headed to the grey cement block that had the stairs leading back down.

"SHIT!" He screamed and kicked the wall before heading in and slamming the door. He rushed down the stairs and ran into his apartment, closing the door and locking all the locks. He locked all the windows before collapsing on his couch.

_Shit I knew I couldn't trust her!_


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey y'all, you probably don't know me as well as ms. tiredanduninspired2013 (I'm gonna short it to taun2013...so much shorter) but since I'm still making write some of the story's disclaimers and stuff brutal. Anyways back on topic, we don't own one piece and never will ):**  
**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter since what you've been reading have all been the work of ms. taun2013, give her some love. Now hopefully my work in this chapter wont kill your love for it but increase love and reviews, cause those are all great!**  
**Enjoy!**

**__****Note from TAUN2013: Although LLL~ wrote this chapter (*clap clap clap*) I did edit it a bit. Just little tidbits that goes as far as sentence structure and grammar. I didn't really change anything drastically from what you originally wrote LLL~ So just a heads up on that.  
Thank you and enjoy!**

* * *

Zoro buried his head into his hands as he laid on his couch. Just one girl had suddenly torn down his world. They were going after his family again, and he wanted to stop them, he just didn't know if he wanted to have full out war on his watch. A war that was caused by him. How would he live with the guilt if someone got hurt? If Luffy, if Riko. If Riko got hurt, I don't even know how I can ever look Luffy in the eyes again. _Shit._

He completely forgot about Luffy and Riko who were coming to his apartment and only thought about the danger of Autumn's gang that was coming and beat himself on the inside for laying on his couch like a log ready to get shot up. He rushed to grab his guns and switchblade before heading to and bending down at the small altar for his parents in his bedroom.

_There will be blood today_, he thought gravely.

With that in mind, Zoro reached under his bed and pulled out his secret weapons. It had devastated him when he had received them at the hearing of his parents' will. His dad had left him 3 swords, sharp edged, deadly, and precious in his memory. Those 3 swords had been handed down in his family, from father to son since feudal Japan. Always sharp and deadly. They had been that way ever since the first day those swords were used to protect his family members.

In the years after their death, Zoro had trained himself but had always hidden his skills with swords until the day came where he felt that he needed them the most. _That day is today_, he thought with a grimace as he fitted all the swords onto his side, _Time to protect my family_.

* * *

Fresh air had never been so exhilarating. Autumn grinned as she paused at red light on her stolen Kawasaki ninja, the one that had belonged to her brother. But she decided it was hers the moment she jammed the keys into the motorcycle and rode out towards the other side, towards Zoro. Even the shining sun seemed to be guiding her towards him, as if it was calling for her to go warn him, go help him. If only she could out ride the 2 guys following her in their car.

_*BANG!*_

Guns had been whipped out already, and bullets were flying. With a wild swerve, Autumn braced herself as she crashed through some construction signs. The guys still followed, and the semi automatic that had been shooting at her from the passenger side window was still aimed at her. It was clear that they wouldn't let her go, but she fired back. With a smirk on her face and mini C-4 explosive grenade in her hand that she fished out of her bra, Autumn revved the engine, bit out the split pit, and threw the grenade back at the car.

_Payback is such a bitch, but then again…oh so sweet, _She smirked as she rode away from the explosion.


	9. Chapter 9

**Haalooo readersss,  
I decided to update again because...well I was bored. And  
hopefully this will please readers. I wrote quite a bit, but not as much as chapter 6.  
The intesity builds along with the obscenities XD But basically the main jist of this  
particular chapter is looking back on how Autumn escaped so that isn't a missing chapter  
in your mind. Remember how Zoro thought if he let Riko get hurt he would never be able to  
look Luffy in the eye again? Well I guess we'll have to see about that...  
Please Enjoy,  
Ms. TAUN2013**

**A/N: We do not and will never own One Piece or the characters...so no one sue us. **  
**Our OC pairings are not meant to insult or be in anyway bad (?O.o) so yeahh...**  
**I'm not very good at writing these things but LiveLieLove made me _ **  
**I hope you enjoy our little story :D**

* * *

As Autumn rode closer to Zoro's home, she thought about how she escaped. She knew that what she'd done, to Jay and to those men who were following her. Yeah, they were shooting at her, but she launched a grenade and killed her brother's henchmen. As she passed the wrecked coffee shop that she saw out of the corner of her eye, she started thinking that switching sides was worth it…at least for her…

_Shit!__ Autumn thought after Carroll left, leaving Jay in his place. Jay was young too, and there was no other way out but the front._

"_Hey Jay," she called as sweetly as she could._

"_Yeah?" He leaned his head in and smiled, "You need something Autumn?"_

"_Uh, yeah sorta. Could you come here for a sec?" She beckoned him in with her forefinger._

_When he approached her, she put her hand on his cheek, "You know, Jay, I've always thought you were kinda cute,"_

_His bright green and blue eyes widened and the pale skin on his cheeks flushed pink, "Wha-What?"_

"_Oh you know, remember when I would always stare at you when we have meetings or when we were eating?"_

"_That's cause you were glaring at me! And then after you'd yell at me for talking or yelling or being annoying,"_

"_No no no! You don't understand, I had a crush on you and didn't know any other way to get your attention or get close to you," she weaved her fingers through his soft blonde hair._

"_How do I know you're not just doing this so I'll let you out?" he smirked and crossed his arms._

"_I'll show you," She pulled him in and kissed him._

_He unexpectedly grabbed her around her waist, pulling her in tighter._

_Ok time to end this,__ Autumn put her hands on his shoulders and slipped in a pinch of his carotid artery and within a moment, he was unconscious. _

"_Ugh, sorry Jay," she groaned lowering him down gently on the ground. She searched him for his gun and had it in her hand in moments. She snuck down the creaky stairs as quietly as she could. She fingered the gun as she made it to the bottom. She poked her head out and saw two guards by the front door, and one in front of the closed Nave doors. _

"_Ok, Autumn," she whispered to herself, "This is a decision that you can't go back on," she nodded, "Ok, one, two, three," she came out and shot all three guards in three seconds and ran to the garage and stole the motorcycle…_

And there she was. Parking at his apartment, she climbed the fire escape to his level and looked in his window. But she was too late to warn him. Nicoll, Carroll, Milo, Max, and Reese were already in his apartment. Reese and Max were binding him with ropes, Carroll was standing guard at the door, Nicoll was taunting him and Milo, _Ugh that slut Milo_, was smiling at him thinking…things…dirty things. Autumn knew her way too well. But Zoro was in trouble, with a capital T and she needed to do something, but what?

Zoro wasn't really listening to what Nicoll was saying. He didn't really care. All he was doing was cursing himself over and over for dropping his guard so easily. He didn't think they could already be in his apartment. The last thing he remembered was he was praying at his parents' altar and then he woke up with them tying him up and yelling at him. Even his swords were laying there on his coffee table, along with his gun and any other weapons he happened to have on him at the time. Same with his cell phone and…the Love Knot was lying there as well. He wanted to freak out on the entire room when he saw that they took it, but his face stayed the same as he focused on Nicoll face. He still didn't hear anything he was saying, but he could recognize that he was Autumn's brother. Damn he was mad. It was kind of tiring. Zoro yawned and looked out the window.

"Hey Phoenix," Carroll called from the door, "There's someone at the door,"

_Phoenix? Ego driven ass-faced retard._ Zoro cursed in his mind.

"Who is it Carroll?"

_CARROLL? How fucked up do these names get? _Zoro raised an eyebrow…in his mind.

"Some girl with curly hair and this guy with black hair," he said flatly.

Zoro's eyes widened, "Leave them alone, they have nothing to do with this,"

Riko knocked on the door, "Zoro! We know you're home! Open up! What did you want to talk about?"

Carroll looked to Nicoll, "What should I do? I don't think they'll leave," he said quietly.

"Get rid of them," Nicoll waved.

Zoro heard Carroll cock back his gun, "Wait! Don't hurt them," Zoro whispered harshly, "Let me get rid of them. Just don't hurt them,"

Nicoll frowned, "Fine. You have one minute,"

Max and Reese let Zoro up and led him to the door. Carroll opened the door and Zoro stuffed himself between the door and it's frame on the wall, "Hey Riko, Luffy,"

"Hey Zoro, are you ok?" Riko asked.

"Yeah I'm fine why?"

"You seem…stiff," Luffy said, "I thought there was something you wanted to talk to us about,"

"Uh, sorry that was my mistake. This isn't the best time right now," Zoro tried to sound sincere.

"Really? Do you have someone over?" Riko leaned in.

Zoro blocked her, "Kind of, look I really have to go so can we talk later?"

Carroll started to close the door, but Riko held it open with her hand, "Zoro! You can tell us what's wrong you know,"

Inside Nicoll was frustrated and signaled Carroll. Carroll then aimed the gun at the spot on the door where Riko's hand still was. He knew from the vibrations where it landed, and shot through the wood and through her hand.

Riko pulled her hand off the door and looked at the bloody hole in the middle of her palm. She was shaking and everyone was silent.

Behind the door, there was a crash.

As soon as Carroll shot through the door, Autumn broke the window and jumped into the room. She had her gun aimed at Nicoll.

"Enough! You give one more order like that and I'll blow your fucking brains out!" she screamed.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: We do not and will never own One Piece or the characters...so no one sue us. **  
**Our OC pairings are not meant to insult or be in anyway bad (?O.o) so yeahh...**  
**I'm not very good at writing these things but LiveLieLove made me _ **  
**I hope you enjoy our little story :D**

* * *

Zoro turned to look at Autumn.

_Why is she here?_ He wondered as he turned back and saw Riko, holding her bloody hand.

"Riko, I'm," Zoro started to say, but choked on his words.

"Don't worry," Riko mouthed shakily as she winked at him.

Zoro looked up at Luffy regrettably, "Luffy,"

Luffy's hands were in tight fists to his sides, "Zoro, turn around," he said lowly as he flipped out his switch blade.

Zoro turned around and Luffy quickly cut him out of all his binds. He pushed Zoro in while handing him his gun.

"I'm taking Riko to the hospital," Luffy said to him.

"No, I don't want to," Riko whined.

"You want to get it treated, but don't mention a gang at my house. If the police get involved it'll be worse than it needs to," Zoro warned them.

Luffy nodded and basically dragged Riko down the hall, "Come on,"

Zoro sighed and headed back inside, closing the door.

"Autumn," Nicoll sneered, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not going to let you kill Zoro," she said pointing her gun at everyone in the room.

Milo smirked, "Ooh, someone has a crush on Zoro-!"

Autumn rolled her eyes and shot at the floor in front of her, "Shut up Milo. You're such a slut and everyone knows it,"

"Bitch," Milo murmured under her breath.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Max and Reese starting to move towards the cover of Nicoll, so she pointed the gun at them, "DON'T TAKE ONE MORE STEP MAX, REESE! I don't want to hurt you,"

"What the hell are you doing?" Nicoll yelled at her, "What are you? A traitor? Why do you care so much about Zoro? He _killed _our father! He deserves what he did back!"

"Don't you think he already went through that when dad killed _his _parents?" Autumn shouted back.

Zoro took this chance to look around. Everyone's eyes were on Autumn. Everyone's guns were also lowered. He quickly disarmed Carroll who was standing a couple feet away from him, taking his gun and pointing it at his chest.

"All of you need to leave right now! Or I guarantee in the next five seconds all of you will be dead," he said strongly.

Nicoll dropped his weapon and motioned for Carroll to move back over to him, "Fine Zoro, let's go. This isn't over. Oh and Autumn," he looked at her, "If you ever come back, you'll die,"

In less time than they imagined, Zoro and Autumn were alone.

"What's going on Autumn?" Zoro threw his hands in the air.

"Zoro, I told you my brother wants to kill you. And I know you don't completely trust me right now," she started to get angry at herself as she felt tears blind her, "But, I swear all I want to do is help you,"

"Why?" Zoro demanded, not noticing her tears yet, "What reason do you have to turn on your family?"

"I'll tell you," she said gravely as tears ran down her cheeks.

Autumn told him about how much she had always detested her father. When she was little, her father and mother got into a very unnecessary but violent argument. She had witnessed it and watched her mother die. Afterwards, she saw her father take her and burn her until her body was completely gone. She couldn't sleep for a week, and she was only six years old. Ever since that day, she'd been scared of her father. Soon, her father went crazy and thought that he would only be satisfied if he killed more people that were important figures. Zoro's father, was a well known sword fighting master. Many people were taught by and respected him greatly. She never really knew exactly how her father thought, but she suspected that it had something to do with him wanting other's to feel like they had also suffered a loss, like he did killing his wife. Although, that thought process made no sense, it was the idea in her mind that had the most. So that's why she was slightly relieved to hear that Zoro had killed her father. However, she knew that Zoro was in trouble, and she didn't want anything bad to happen to him. That's why she'd been sneaking out, to see if he was alright, but it seemed all she did was bring trouble along.

Autumn had been crying for a while now with Zoro listening to her on his couch.

"And so that's my deal," she said wiping her eyes, looking up at him, "I'm sorry I've caused so much trouble. It was my fault your friend got hurt,"

Zoro sighed and scratched the back of his head, "I don't think they're coming back tonight. Stay here. You can't go back even if you wanted to. You chose to protect me so I'm going to do everything I can to keep you alive now," he got up and walked into his room, getting an extra blanket, pillow, and sheet from his closet and putting it at the end of the couch, "You can sleep in my room,"

Autumn looked up at him, "I'd rather sleep on the couch. I don't deserve your bed,"

Zoro sighed, "Fine, I guess these are clean anyway," he yawned, "I'm tired," he said as he walked into his bedroom and changed out of his outermost layer of clothes and collapsed on his bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

Autumn blinked surprisingly at his sudden sleep, but she took off her jacket, jeans, shoes and socks and set up the sheets on the couch and tried to go to sleep.

A couple hours later, she woke up to thunder and rain hitting the window. She jerked up, feeling the sweat on her body. She hesitantly took her pillow and walked into Zoro's bedroom. She shook him awake.

"Zoro!" she whispered harshly, "Zoro!"

He woke up, "Huh? What?" he whispered.

"Zoro, can I stay here," she blushed, even though he couldn't see, "With you?"

Zoro rubbed his eyes, "Ok yeah fine, whatever," he turned to try to go to sleep with him as she crawled in next to him. She pressed against his back, trying to feel more secure.

"Why are you all sweaty?" Zoro turned towards her and touched her shoulder, running down her arm and then, before he knew what he was doing, he was touching her thigh, "Shit, sorry,"

"Why? You wanna get sweaty too, don't you?" suddenly, Autumn was feeling mischievous.

Zoro smirked, "Well, you _did wake me up,"_

_…Let's just say after a bit, they were both a little more than sweaty. _

_

* * *

_

**heheheheh who doesn't love a good sex scene at the end of a chapter? XD  
I love all you guys! Thanks for being such loyal readers :D  
Love,  
Ms. TAUN2013 ^_~**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: We do not own One Piece blah blah blah never have never will blah blah blah**

**To my readers,  
I'm sorry for the late update. I've been so busy with before school preparations and volleyball.  
I WAS counting on LLL to write this chapter but, here I am. School officially starts for me  
tomorrow, and I'm gonna be so damn busy! But I'm sure LLL as well as I will try very hard to  
keep updating at least once a week. I had tons of artist's block this week, so I apologize  
for the short chapter. But none the less, I hope you enjoy this update.  
Ms. TAUN2013**

* * *

"I can't believe you snuck out of the hospital, and at 4 am?" Luffy said looking straight ahead on the road.

Riko smiled, "Are you kidding? I can't miss all this! I was tired of that place. I didn't wanna stay over night. I mean, shit, I got shot in the hand," and she switched to a more serious face, "Zoro obviously needs help. He can't do this alone, and I'm not gonna pull out just because I'm a girl,"

Luffy glanced at her and sighed, "I guess there's gonna be some sort of big fight going on soon. We gotta be ready,"

"It'll be nice to see everyone again, though. They don't live close enough to us. It sucks the occasion is this, though," Riko looked at the bandages wrapped around her hand, "I've missed Sanji and Robin and all our friends,"

Luffy squeezed her shoulder, "Let's just get home. I swear I'll protect you,"

"I don't think I'm the one who needs protecting," Riko took his hand and kissed it before pulling a shot gun out from under the seat, "I can't wait to pay them back. A hand for a hand, eh?"

* * *

The sun was barely starting to come up, but the way Autumn shifted next to him in bed woke Zoro up. He opened his eyes slowly and yawned. He looked to Autumn and wondered how exactly all of last night happened. He didn't _want _to think about his feelings right now, but there was nothing else to think about. He was really confused. Just a few hours ago, he thought that she betrayed him, that all of the bad things that had happened so far were all because of her. But then, she told him all about her life, her feelings, and why certain things happened the way they did. Zoro cared about her. He didn't want anything bad to happen to her. Things weren't going to be calm like this again for a while.

* * *

"I can't believe you just LET HER OUT!" Nicoll yelled violently at Jay.

"I'm sorry! She knocked me out for at least a couple hours. I couldn't do anything!" Jay defended himself with a sorry look on his face.

Nicoll paced in a small circle, his face getting sadder and sadder with every step, "I can't believe she would betray us, betray me!"

"She's in love with that Zoro, Phoenix," Carroll said calmly.

"Yet you didn't foresee this?"

"She doesn't tell me _everything _like you seem to think she does," Carroll was annoyed with Nicoll. He was always saying things like that. Blaming others for not being able to prevent something that wasn't in his itinerary.

"Who's side are you on, Carroll?"

"Why would you so quickly turn against your sister, Nicoll?"

Nicoll paused for a moment, "You know she's the only one allowed to call me that,"

"Why? You run this 'family' like a communist country!"

"Well maybe you should leave then!"

"You're acting like such a girl,"

"Get out Carroll! I won't kill you now, but get ready for a world of hurt soon,"

Carroll quickly took his pack from his room and pushed out the front door.

After the doors were closed, Nicoll turned to the rest of the group, "This is war,"


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: We do not own One Piece blah blah blah never have never will blah blah blah**

**Dear Readers,  
For some reason I feel that this update it late again, so I apologize  
for that. Once again I thought MAYBE LLL would write this chapter,  
but I ended up writing a terribly short chapter compared to the others.  
I know it's kind of a filler, but there is a tiny hint that complicates the story even more :D  
So yeah, I hope you like it. Hopefully my PARTNER will come to my rescue sometime  
this week and I'll be able to update soon again.  
Thanks,  
Ms. TAUN2013**

* * *

Zoro woke up to knocking on his door. Autumn was still asleep, but the knocking woke her up soon after he did. They smiled at each other before yawning simultaneously. Zoro got up, quickly pulling on some sweatpants and went to answer the door while Autumn pulled one of Zoro's shirts over her head. She walked into the living room and saw him talking with Riko and Luffy.

"What's she doing here?" Luffy asked darkly.

Zoro looked back at her, "She's on our side, guys. Come in," he opened the door wider to them and they stepped inside.

Autumn saw the bandages wrapped around Riko's hand and felt heavy guilt instantly land on her.

"Riko?"

Riko looked up at her, "Yes?"

"I'm so sorry about your hand. It's my fault that all of this happened. I'm sorry you got hurt," Autumn looked down at the ground humbly.

Riko smiled, "It's alright. You weren't the one to shoot me were you?"

Luffy sneered and muttered, "Doesn't mean it wasn't her fault,"

Riko nudged him and patted Autumn's shoulder.

Zoro led everyone to sit on the couch and around his coffee table, "So, what brings you here?"

Luffy made an unconscious glance toward Autumn, "We need to talk about what happened yesterday. Why didn't you warn us?"

"I was _clearly_ trying to tell you leave," Zoro, "Maybe if Riko didn't keep pushing,"

"HEY! Don't blame her for her own injury!" Luffy yelled.

"Ok we're not getting anywhere with yelling," Riko interrupted.

"I agree with Riko," Autumn added, "My brother has lots of allies, and he's going to bring them along when he decides he wants to attack. I have no idea when or how that will be. But it's safe to say that I'll be fighting with you,"

Suddenly there was another knock at the door.

Zoro got up and answered, surprised to see Carroll.

"I know I'm the last person you want to see here, but I think I can help you," he said quickly, "Can I come in?"

Zoro hesitated, but let him in regardless of his thoughts on what happened with him.

Carroll saw Riko and Luffy and Autumn get up in the living room.

"Carroll? What are you doing here?" Autumn asked slightly shocked.

"Yeah. What _are _you doing here?" Luffy said icily.

"_Luffy,_" Riko urged.

"What? He _shot _you. You want me to be _nice?" _Luffy retorted.

"He's right," Carroll, "I really regret it though. I regretted it as soon as I pulled the trigger. That's part of the reason I'm here. I left them. I don't know exactly how I can prove it to you but,"

"How about you shoot yourself in the hand?" Luffy crossed his arms.

"Luffy!" Riko shook his arm before turning to Carroll, "Please don't listen to him. Don't do anything like that. We were just talking, come and sit down,"

"You're too forgiving Riko," Luffy sat down trying not to glare up at Carroll and Autumn. He had no idea how to feel about them. All he knew was that both of them were key in hurting Riko, and he couldn't take it.

Zoro sat next to Autumn on the couch and sighed, "Ok so how are we going to deal with this? Now we have Carroll and Autumn, so they could probably give us some insight. But that doesn't mean it's not a problem,"

"Autumn? Is something wrong?" Riko asked. Autumn looked like she was going to be sick.

"Excuse me," Autumn got up and ran into Zoro's bathroom.

Riko ran after her and held her hair back as she vomited into the toilet.

"ZORO!"

It didn't take long for Riko to figure out what Zoro and Autumn did last night.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: We don't own One Piece or the characters nor will we ever.**

**Hello readers!  
Thank you for being so patient! I'm sorry I haven't updated for what seems,  
at least to me, for a long time. I have too much homework D: I'm sorry  
this chapter is short also, but I tried! If only a CERTIAN SOMEONE *cough  
cough* LLL~, would SAVE ME...maybe it would've been longer? I can't say  
for sure. But I'm so glad you all have continued to read and have been loyal to  
our story for this long. I hope you enjoy this chapter and hopefully the next chapter  
I write (or hopefull LLL will write it _) will have more action and suspense in it**

I love all of you!  
Ms. TAUN2013

* * *

"I can't believe you got her pregnant," Riko walked back into the living room, "Are you crazy? You didn't even consider protection?"

Zoro threw his hands up, "It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing!"

Luffy looked to Carroll, "Aren't you pissed?"

Carroll looked at him blankly, "Why would I be?"

"He knocked her up. Wasn't she part of your 'family' or something?"

Carroll shrugged his shoulders, "It doesn't seem like it was forced or anything. Maybe pregnancy isn't what either of them expected, but it's not anything to get mad at Zoro or Autumn about,"

Luffy shook his head, "This is a problem regardless. Who knows when they'll come after us, and now Zoro's little girlfriend is pregnant. Talk about bad timing,"

Autumn stumbled back into the living room, tying her hair back as she stood at the front of the room, "What do you want to do?" she directed toward Zoro.

"About the baby?" he asked.

She nodded, "If it's that much trouble, then we could abort it, but-"

"Whatever you want to do," he walked over to her and took her hands in his, "It's inside you, I don't want to make the decision for you. I will take care of the both of you if you don't want to give it up. But I don't have anything against aborting it if that's your choice,"

Autumn smiled at him, "I want to keep it. But we have to get married before it's born, ok?"

Zoro blushed and smirked, "Yeah. I guess we do,"

Riko squealed softly, putting her hands to her mouth, as she felt like she was about to cry. She looked to Luffy and grinned. He smiled back at her and wrapped an arm around her.

Carroll smiled softly at Autumn, but felt awkward and left out since he was currently the only single man in the room.

"But what now?" Autumn's voice took a turn into anxiousness. The air pressure in the room was harsh and unpleasant again as they looked at each other, wondering when they would have to deal with the dangers that were to come.

* * *

Nicoll had been in the Nave of the church for a very long time. He was thinking about how to execute Zoro. He almost wanted to just go into it, but he decided against it, thinking it was too risky. Now that he didn't have Carroll, it was one less man for muscle power on his side. It didn't matter now, though. He had connections.

Nicoll stormed out of the Nave and called a few leaders from other gangs.

"I need help. I've found Zoro, and you're going to help me kill him," is what he said to many of the people he had called. He assembled his gang and had a meeting with them.

"So when are we going to do this already?" Jay asked excitedly.

"We're going to keep them waiting for a little bit. Keep them scared for a little bit and then catch them off guard,"

"How are you going to kill Zoro though?" Milo picked at her nails, "I mean, are we going to just go in and battle it out? Are we going to take them out slower? What?"

"I'll explain everything. But I can tell you that all the events that are going to happen, will be spread out along the next couple of weeks,"

"Are we going to kill _everyone_?" Max asked quietly.

"My only target is Zoro, but everyone else, their lives are in _their _hands," Nicoll responded bluntly.

He _would _kill Zoro, if it was the last thing he would do. He wanted to do something that would be dramatic and that would be remembered for generations of his bloodline. He knew what he was going to do…


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey everyone!  
So I've wanted to try to be a little more consistent  
and wanna try to update maybe every saturday :)  
I decided to move the plot along, so, maybe not exactly what  
you were expecting? but I hope you like it nonetheless :D  
Thank you and Enjoy!  
Ms. TAUN2013**

* * *

  
A few days later, Autumn was still getting morning sickness, but she helped out in the coffee shop which Riko managed to clean up.

Every moment in their lives was filled with paranoia, and every time they forgot, the thoughts of the war always found a way to creep back into their minds. They were scared. For themselves, and each other. They didn't know what to expect. A sudden group attack? A message that would bring them to a battle field? No idea. But it was about to get bad.

"Who's first?" Milo asked grinning ear to ear upon hearing the new plan.

"Luffy,"

"Hey, Luffy, do you wanna order take out again? I could make something when I get home," Riko said into the phone as she and Autumn were walking back from the coffee shop.

"Are you tired? We can order take out. Or I could try to make something," he suggested.

Riko giggled, "Yeah and burn the complex down? I really don't mind making something, if we have anything that is,"

Luffy chuckled, "Alright, I'll take a look and if I can't find any possibilities, then I'll just order something,"

"Ok, sounds good,"

"Be safe and get home soon, I love you," his voice grew serious.

Riko spoke softer, "You too. I love you too, Luffy,"

"See you soon,"

She hung up and smiled at Autumn, "How're things going with Zoro? Is he treating you alright?"

Autumn blushed, "Yeah. I've never felt this way about anyone before. I'm really happy, but also kinda overwhelmed that everything happened so fast. Or it seemed fast to me,"

Riko grinned, "Aw. You're so cute! Zoro seems happier. Like you've given him back something,"

"I'm really sorry. About all of this. All of us have been, scared about when something is gonna happen, and I feel really guilty,"

"Hey, you're part of us now. You and Carroll,"

"I know Luffy is still suspicious of us, though," Autumn looked at her sadly.

"He'll come around. Don't worry too much,"

Autumn nodded and they walked up to the apartment complex, walked up the stairs and went to their corresponding apartments.

Riko opened the door and dropped her keys on the hall table, "Hey Luffy! I'm back,"

But she didn't get an answer.

"Luffy?" She locked the door and hurried in the apartment, "Luffy!"

There was a breeze coming in from an open window. The fridge door was open, a bottle broken on the floor, furniture toppled over.

"Oh my god," Riko felt herself start to cry when she saw some spots of blood on the floor, "Luffy." She ran out the front door and banged on Zoro's, "ZORO! ZORO!" she was sobbing now.

Zoro opened the door, "Riko? God- Riko! What's wrong?"

"It's Luffy! He's gone!" she cried into her hands as Zoro pulled her in.

Luffy woke up in the dark. His head hurt and he still tasted blood in his mouth.

_Shit. Riko, I'm so sorry. Just moments after we talked…I hope you're ok, _were his first thoughts. He didn't know where he was at all. All he remembered was looking around for food after talking to Riko, and then, the next thing he knew, he was trying to fight off a masked piece of muscle wearing the colors from Nicoll's gang. The apartment was a mess and he was completely knocked out. _What did Riko see when she got home? Why aren't I there for her. She must be scared out of her mind. I hope she's with Zoro now. Fuck!_

He slammed his foot on the ground. _Riko…_


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: "We" don't own One Piece blah bleh blaahhh yeah who cares  
ANYWAY. I know it's like the middle of the week, not even that, it's Tuesday.  
_ I probably could have waited till the weekend before updating,  
but I didn't want to. SO HERE YOU GO YOU SILL WONDERFUL READERS YOU.  
jk...that was kinda weird. Anyway, hope you enjoy this slightly longer chapter  
than last time. I'M TRYING REALLY HARD .  
Loooove,  
Ms. TAUN2013**

* * *

Riko's hands shook as she sat on Zoro's couch, her eyes still red from crying, "I can't believe he's gone. I was _just talking to him on the phone. What if that's the last time I hear his voice?" _her voice cracked as she started crying again.

Zoro rubs her back and pulls her into a hug, "Everything's going to be alright. I'm so sorry, I don't know how I didn't hear anything happening."

She pulled her knees up to her face and cried into them.

Zoro sighed quietly and looked up to Autumn and Carroll.

Autumn rubbed her arms and cast her eyes to the floor.

Carroll shook his head and went to the bathroom to not have to see Riko crying.

"Riko, stay here tonight. I don't feel comfortable letting you back in there alone," Zoro caressed her hair.

"I have to clean up…the apartment," she said in between sobs.

"Hey hey, no," he attempted to comfort her, "Don't worry about it, I'll go tomorrow. But no one's going now, you need to relax ok? I'll set up part of the couch for you, but Carroll will be here too. Are you ok with that?"

Riko nodded solemnly.

* * *

Luffy shook the door that enclosed him by the handle, but it wouldn't give. He curse and shrunk back into the room as he heard someone coming down the stairs. The door opened and Milo walked in with some food.

Luffy sneered and knocked it out of her hand, making her jump.

"What the fuck?" she whined, "Jesus, for a guy as hot as you, you sure can be an asshole,"

"Fuck you," he spit, "What do you think I should act like? Like you're treating me like I'm a guest at a five star hotel? How would you feel if you were taken away from your home, and you can't see the person you care about most? Or maybe you don't know about that, I heard Autumn call you a slut,"

Milo lunged at him and grabbed him by the collar, "DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME A SLUT! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME AND ABOUT MY LIFE!" She let go of him and stormed out and locked the door behind her, "Go ahead and fucking ROT!"

* * *

There was a knock on the door of Zoro's apartment the next morning. Zoro went and answered just after he finished breakfast.

Almost everyone was there. Robin, Sanji, Ace, and Shanks, even though he was older.

"Did someone call for backup?" Ace smiled as he walked through the door first.

Robin gave Zoro a sympathetic nod as she entered silently, so did Sanji and Shanks.

Riko got up and hugged everyone tightly.

"Hey Riko, I heard what happened with Luffy. You gonna be okay?" Ace hugged her for slightly longer than everyone else.

Riko nodded into his shoulder, "It's nice to see you again,"

Ace gave her a warm smile and went over to meet Autumn and Carroll.

Once everyone was settled, Zoro addressed everyone, "Alright, so everyone knows what's happened. We don't know where Luffy is,"

"He's probably at the church. I know where it is, and so does Carroll. But there are a lot of people there, and I'm sure even more now that my brother knows where you are, Zoro,"

Sanji lit his cigarette, "We have lots of friends too,"

"Zoro I can go back home now. I have to clean up the apartment and not everyone can stay here or anything," Riko then turned towards their new guests, "You guys can stay at my place if you want. Although, now that I think about it, maybe you don't want to. Either way I should go back home,"

"I'd like to stay with you if you don't mind," Robin replied.

"Luffy wouldn't forgive me if I let anything happen to you," Ace said, "I'll sleep on your couch,"

Sanji blew out smoke, "I'm not staying with this moss head,"

Zoro threw him an unfriendly glance.

Riko nodded, "We have a guest bedroom. Do you mind sharing my bed with me Robin?"

Robin smiled and shook her head, "Not at all,"

Zoro nodded, "Alright, well, now that that's settled," he sighed, "We have to do something about Luffy. We can't just leave him there,"

"We need to get this all done. Autumn or I can call Nicoll directly from a payphone somewhere and ask for a meeting. But if nothing happens for a while, we'll have to go to the church directly. But honestly that's a last resort,"

Everyone was in agreement, and after Riko left to go back to her apartment, the anticipation in the air thickened to a point that made it almost difficult to breathe.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hi you guys,  
****I am SO SORRY for how late this chapter is. That's why I decided to update two chapters this weekend to try to make up for it (the next one will come tomorrow). I had a little trouble writing this chapter because SOMEONE(cough my writing partner) PROMISED me that she would email me the next TWO chapters about TWO WEEKS ago. Not that I'm trying to blame anyone _ but it's totally her fault. And I'm PISSED. Sorry. Anyway. Regardless of these hurdles, I hope that I haven't lost too many of you and that you will enjoy the next couple of chapters.  
****Thanks,****  
****TAUN2013**

P.S. Sorry it's kinda short, but I was a bit short on time. I promise 17 will be longer.

**

* * *

**

Shanks sipped slowly on his coffee as he leaned in such a perturbed manner that he looked almost calm. But why wouldn't he anxious? Luffy was very dear to him, but he knew Riko must've been even more agitated than he was.

"I'm sorry to impose on you like this, Zoro," he said with such a draining and monotonous tone that it almost depressed Zoro. But he could still tell Shanks was genuine.

So he shook his head after taking a sip from his beer bottle, "Don't worry about it. We're glad to have all of you here though. Is anyone else gonna come knocking at our doors later that we should know about?"

Shanks chuckled half-heartedly, more out of nervousness than anything else, "No. At least, no one that we would know about," he sighed, "All our back up is spread out within a mile from here…gathering them all up will only take one call."

Zoro nodded, "That's good everyone's here and ready, but honestly, I'd rather not have to call them and just kick Nicoll's ass on our own. That's only if we have surprise on our side."

Shanks nodded curtly and then smiled at Autumn as she walked into the living room, sat on the couch, and turned on the TV.

His smile stayed on his face as he looked back at Zoro, "She's quite pretty you know,"

Zoro blushed feebly, but still smiled back at him, "She's beautiful. A little broken, but she's perfect."

"How long have you been together exactly?"

Zoro scratched his head and finished off his beer, "Umm, a couple of weeks? I know it seems a bit far-fetched, but I can't imagine what I would do if I let anything happen to her."

Shanks nodded, this time, slowly and understandingly, "You can't control what you feel. If I remember correctly, it was about 2 hours after they saw each other that Luffy couldn't wait to ask Riko out on a date any longer," his smiled faded into a cold gaze, "I hope she's doing alright over there,"

Zoro placed his empty bottle in the recycling, "Yeah, me too,"

* * *

Riko started blankly at the wall as she wiped it clean of Luffy's blood. Or maybe it belonged to his captor, or at least, she hoped it did. She was sitting there, probably for two hours after they had gotten home, scrubbing, and then slowly coming to a halt, like time had stopped. She tried to drown her anxiety and her worry in the sounds of people walking around and living in her apartment. But her mind was densely fogged over with the saddest blue-grey you could think of. The only way she was able to keep track of time, was when every so often, something would pull her out of her trance, and she would continue counting beats in the strokes she made on the wall.

Sanji, Robin and Ace were gathered on the couch, all looking at her with empathetic concern.

"I wonder what she's thinking," Ace almost whispered.

Sanji butted out his cigarette, "I think she feels guilty. For not being here when all this happened,"

"It's not her fault at all!" Ace thought in terms of an expression that sounded louder than how it came out, again, almost as white as his previous whisper.

"She has a big heart. Big, but fragile. Same with her mind, but," Robin got up and kneeled next to her. She put her hand on Riko's shoulder and smiled as she turned her head a looked at her, "It's alright now. It's all going to turn out ok in the end. Luffy will be back sooner than we know it,"

Although she felt like her throat was too dry to speak, and that she'd trip and choke over the hurdle of words her mind wanted to express, she didn't let herself stay silent, "I hope you're right,"


	17. Chapter 17

**OK GUYS!So I said I'd update 17 also this weekend, and that is what I'm doing :D  
I'm really trying to think out the plot as best I can so that this story doesn't end up being a million chapters long.  
For this chapter I don't wanna keep you guys completely bored with no sort of an exciting twist in the plot or anything.  
So I hope this chapter will spark some excitement within your wonderful little brains and it will inspire you to  
continue reading our (though I'm starting to question that) story.  
Thanks,  
TAUN2013**

**

* * *

**

"When are we going to kill him?" Milo said bitterly as she picked at her food.

"Kill who?" Nicoll chewed with distastefully.

"Luffy! Who do you think?" She slammed her fist down on the table, causing everyone to eye her strangely.

"What's your problem?" Reese asked skeptically with his mouth half full.

It was a strange sight. The rectangular table, completely filled with these young people. The air is filled with anxiety radiating away from every single body except those of Reese and Milo.

Reese's utterly blank face emitted no nervousness or concern, while Milo's face was written over and over again with anger and frustration until the wrinkles in between her eyes looked like black daggers. But it was completely silent, at least for a few seconds.

"_What's my problem?_" Milo said softly and shakily, but harshly. She picked up her knife and threw it across the room, nearly hitting an innocent Jay right between the eyes. Good thing he ducked. And she screamed, prior to rushing out of the room and locking herself in her own.

Jay rolled his eyes and sipped his water, "Crazy,"

* * *

Riko solemnly walked down to her shop and opened it up for the rest of the day. To her, there wasn't really a lot to go home to, so, she would work as long as she could stand. Ace and Sanji and Robin had all offered to come help her out, and oh how she tried to refuse them, but as she was trying to keep herself occupied with counting her footsteps, she couldn't help getting distracted every once in a while by the sight of their footsteps in her peripheral vision.

The day, as it could've been foretold, wasn't a very busy one. The shop hadn't been open in maybe a week? Time was moving way too slowly, and Riko was getting sick of it.

"I'm going to go get him," she said, almost too quietly to herself as she wiped down the counter.

"What do you mean? Go get Luffy?" Ace eyed her.

"Do you know where he is?" Robin questioned calmly as she brought coffee to one of the four customers in the shop.

"No, but I'm going to find out. Autumn will help me. I can't stand around and do nothing anymore,"

Sanji finished cleaning what little dishes there were in the sink and stepped out to smoke. The air outside was crisp. The whether was getting colder, but it was preferable outside then in, where guilt flooded the space.

Riko glanced out at Sanji, wondering if she made him go out.

Ace put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry about him. He's just worried about you, you know?" He rubbed her arm, "We all are,"

* * *

"Who are we getting next?" Max asked after coming back from giving Luffy more food, "He looks like he's starting to give up,"

Nicoll smirked. He was glad. Breaking Zoro's group up from the outside and working his way in. Making drag on, he imagined, made them lose their minds even more. But he wouldn't deny getting impatient. Even though it was his own doing, he wanted to finish Zoro off more and more each day. It was time to step up the game play, "Maybe the company I'll be giving him, and taking from them, will deteriorate their situation even further,"

* * *

It was very dark, and Riko was just closing up the shop. The four of them left together and walked a little faster than usual.

Suddenly, Riko dropped to the ground.

"What the hell?" Sanji said as he and Ace dropped on their knees and took a look at her. He turned her head and saw a dart in her neck, "Really?"

"Seems a little primitive," Ace chimed in.

"They're not gone." Robin interrupted darkly, "It's too far to walk much longer," she flipped out her phone and speed dialed Zoro, "Zoro, you need to come pick us uh-" she couldn't finish as she collapsed.

"Dammit!" Ace looked over at her and then looked up around the area, but he couldn't detect any sort of sniper, "This isn't good,"

But the next thing they knew, both Sanji and Ace were hit in the necks with the same darts.

* * *

Zoro drove as fast as he could, but when he got around to the street the shop was on, he saw three bodies laying on the sidewalk, and one body checking them over that stopped dead in its tracks when it saw his car. Zoro leaped out and started chasing it.

"HEY!" he raced and when he finally caught up to it, grabbed it by the neck and pushed it up against a wall, "Who the hell are you and what were you doing!" he yelled.

As a streetlight buzzed on, he recognized the figure as a she, and to be even more precise, Milo.

* * *

Robin was the first to wake up, she saw Ace and Sanji lying near her, Zoro interrogating a girl he had pinned on a wall, but Riko was gone. _We lost her._

_

* * *

_

**P.S.- Sorry for how late it is…but I don't think it matters too, too much…**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: We (Oops I mean "I") don't own One Piece, never will. You get it don't sue us.**

I'm really trying to make these chapters longer. So please keep reading and being the loyal  
readers that I've come to know and love. I know the events that have unfolded are still pretty dark.  
So if you want to have me try to put in a light hearted part (whether that be funny or romantic) can you  
please review or send me a message and let me know how I can make this a more entertaining read.

Thank you!  
TAUN2013

* * *

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He screamed at her, "And where the fuck is Riko?"

"Jesus fucking Christ, I don't know! I just got here like five minutes ago! You're idiot friends were lying unconscious on the ground! That bitch is god knows where! Probably with her shit boyfriend back at the hideout," she struggled in his grip and was trying to pry his arms off her shirt.

Zoro shook her harshly, "Listen you little shit, don't talk about my friends that way. And you still didn't answer my question. What the fuck are you doing here?"

Milo glared up at him, "I came to kill your fat-ass friend, but the boys back home got to her before I did. Fucking bastards,"

Zoro threw her on the ground and walked back towards Ace, Sanji, and Robin.

Robin stood up, "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to go get them both back. What else?" he got everyone up and into the car, leaving Milo alone in the dark.

* * *

Milo got up and started walking back towards the only home she knew. She thought about how even now, with all the people she lived with, she felt more alone than ever. Hot tears flooded her eyes and stained her cheeks. She pulled out the Desert Eagle she had in the back of her jeans and checked the clip. Two bullets. One was meant for Riko, and the other, for her. She cocked it back and held the gun up to her head. But she was shaking too much. She put it back down and fell to her knees. Ever since she was eight she's been contemplating suicide. No one else knew about what had happened to her. Well, that was because everyone who knew, was dead.

_The day started out like any other would. The sun rose, birds sang, life was waking up to the light. Except for a little girl. She woke up to the sound of footsteps coming down the creaking wood stairs into the dark, dank basement where she was kept. In the winter it got unbearably cold. In the spring and summer, there was a lot of rain that flooded the floors. There were rats and insects, they crawled over her while she slept, which was not often. She was scared for most of her life. She was scared of those footsteps coming down. They only came down for one reason, and that was to hurt her. The only good thing, was that she only heard that sound once a year. On her birthday. And she knew it was her birthday because every time he came down those stairs, before the hurt started, he greeted her with a dark, "Happy Birthday." _

_But the hurt wasn't the only thing she suffered. He starved her horribly. Throwing stale bread and rotten fruit to the ground occasionally. Not even giving her time to see where it landed before he closed the door, locking her back in the dark. Milo scrambled all over the floor to find the food. But sometimes she couldn't find it, and she cried from the pain in her stomach that ate away at her flesh inside her. _

_Once a year, she forgot about her starvation. The way he beat her was so senseless and violent that by the time he was done, her entire body was numb. _

_In the beginning, she cried and screamed for him to stop. But after three years of starvation and bruises, her vocal cords were so strained, that she decided she would no longer speak. She just cried. _

_Milo lost herself in the pain. All she could think about was how to end it. If she no longer breathed. If she no longer existed in this world, maybe then, all of it would go away. But she had nothing. Nothing to act as a catalyst for her eternal escape. All she had were the concrete walls, the stairs, and the floor. She thought about ramming herself hard enough into the stairs or the walls that she could die from a concussion. She thought about breaking off a piece of wood from the stairs and cutting herself with it so she could bleed to death. _

_But every time she thought about it, she couldn't bring herself to actually carry out the deed. _

_One day, instead of waking up to the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, she woke up to the sound of two fires of a gun at the top of the stairs. But she was close to dying. She was so hungry that it was difficult for her to stay awake. The noise barely caused her to open her eyes. _

_Soon after, the door opened and feet quickly ran down the stairs and kneeled down next to her. Their voice was kind, soft, caring. Nothing like she'd ever heard before. She couldn't understand anything they were saying. Everything went black._

_The next time she opened her eyes, she was in a soft bed. There was food and water on a table next to her. And there were people around her. Comforting her. Tending to her wounds. Trying to tell her that everything would be alright. That no one would ever hurt her again. _

All those feelings had come rushing back after the night Luffy yelled at her. Milo hated the feeling that the shouting gave her. She thought she would never have to experience that anxiety again. She thought she would never have to hear a man shout at her again. Maybe when she came to kill Riko, she had the wrong target in mind. She had to find a way to kill Luffy. One bullet for him, one bullet for her, and she wouldn't have to hear _anyone _ever yell at her again.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey everyone!  
I would first like to apologize for the shortness of  
this chapter. Second of all, I would like to thank all of  
you readers who have stuck with me(us) from the  
very start of our little story. As you can see...I am still  
stalling any sort of fighting scene XD Just kidding. I swear,  
the next chapter will probably have some sort of exciting actiony  
stuff like that. So if that's what you've been waiting for, I ask you  
to be patient for just one more week :)  
Thank you and enjoy! :D  
TAUN2013**

* * *

Riko woke up and immediately moved her hands up to her throbbing head. They were tied together. Her eyes adjusted and so did her body. She was being moved in the trunk of a car. _Maybe they'll take me to Luffy._ So she decided just to stay quiet and not resist while she thought of a plan. She just wanted to know he was alright.

Soon, Luffy heard footsteps and struggling. He got up and pressed himself closer to the door.

"_Let go of me!_" he heard slightly muffled through the door. His eyes widened when he recognized the voice.

"Riko!" He banged on the door, "Riko are you okay?"

"Step back away from the door!" one of Nicoll's "muscle men" shouted, "Or we'll shoot her!" They fired a warning shot at the floor.

Luffy clenched his fists and stepped back.

They opened the door and threw Riko inside and then closed the door before either of them could do anything. In moments, they were gone.

"Luffy?" Riko asked trembling from the pain of landing on her side, "Ow,"

Luffy bent down to her and kissed her softly, "Riko, are you alright? I'm so sorry I let this happen," he quickly untied her hands and embraced her, "Did they hurt you? Cause I swear if they did…"

Riko smiled and wrapped her arms tightly around him, "No, I'm fine. I'm just glad to see you're okay. I never thought you'd be taken away like that. I had just spoken to you on the phone and…when I saw the blood," tears started swelling up in her eyes, "I thought…I thought the worst had happened,"

Luffy wiped her tears away and smiled with sympathy, "I'm sorry I worried you. Has anything else happened?"

"Everyone came over. Ace, Robin, Sanji, Shanks. We were all so worried," she looked at him and frowned, "Why do you look like you've lost weight? Have they not been feeding you?"

Luffy shook his head, "No, it's just that I haven't been eating,"

"Luffy!"

"What?"

"Luffy, you have to eat,"

He sighed, "I know, I was just so angry."

Riko, "Okay, well you better start eating now that I'm here,"

He smiled, "I promise,"

She leaned against the wall and sighed, "I feel so terrible. Getting snatched up like that. We're not doing Zoro any favors. I just feel like a burden,"

Luffy sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulder, "It's okay. We're a family, and we look after each other. Zoro wouldn't think of you as a burden," he let her lean on his shoulder, "We're gonna get out of this,"

* * *

"She's gone?" Autumn was genuinely shocked, "Zoro, I'm so sorry. This is-"

"No it's not," he interrupted her sharply, "Don't say it's your fault. I'll just get more pissed," he tried not to yell as he loaded two of his guns and stuffed a knife in his pocket.

"Zoro you can't go rushing into this," Autumn was worried for him now, "We need a plan, and we need to do this together, with cool heads,"

"We don't have time for that! I'm not going to ABANDON my family over with that bastard Nicoll so they can be tortured this way and that!"

"You don't even know if they're being tortured,"

"No! I don't! They could be dead! That's why I have to go!"

Shanks decided to chime in, "You're being a bit reckless Zoro," he walked in and looked down at him, "You could make things worse,"

"How could things be any worse than they are now?" Zoro flashed him a face that was filled with a mix of anger, fear, and sadness, but mostly guilt.

Shanks sighed and quickly left the apartment to talk to Robin, Ace, and Sanji about this. They couldn't let Zoro go in alone. He knocked on the door of Riko and Luffy's apartment. Ace and Robin answered.

"Hey," Ace sighed, "Something happen?"

"Zoro's losing it," Shanks said quickly running his fingers through his hair, "He wants to leave and get Riko and Luffy back _right now_,"

"Then let's go!" Sanji chimed in from inside. He made his way to the door, "If we wait too long, it could be too late,"

Shanks sighed, "Hasn't anyone ever heard of 'Better safe than sorry'?" He looked to Robin for help, but all she did was smile and shrug.

Shanks rolled his eyes as he walked back into Zoro's apartment. _Are Autumn and I the only ones who think this is a bad idea?_


	20. Chapter 20

**OMG! Heeeeeey you guys! I know it's been FOREVER since I've updated this crazy story. It's kinda late where I am so that's why you don't see any exciting shooting fight scenes yet. But I guarantee those are coming! And they're coming soon! The end is drawing near and this is "The Beginning of The End." If you don't know why I put it in quotation marks, go look it up on Youtube :P Anyway, I am so glad my story hasn't run completely dry and you guys are still reading. I hope I haven't lost too many of my original readers. So I hope you enjoy and I promise another chapter before this week is over  
- 3  
TAUN2013**

* * *

Zoro could hardly hear anything but his own heartbeat and the blood rushing through his head. He nearly sprinted to the motorcycle Autumn had left at his apartment. He didn't even care that he barely knew how to ride it. He only wanted to get to where his family was. He couldn't take losing anyone else, and no matter what anyone said, he would hold the blame on himself until the day he died. That was just the kind of person he was. To be honest, it got annoying every once in a while. But it was one of those things you can't help loving about a person.

"Zoro, would you slow down!" Autumn's voice broke through his wall. She was barely able to keep up. Forget the others.

Zoro stopped almost dead in his tracks, "Sorry," he almost whispered.

She stood by him and put a hand on his arm, "I know you care Zoro. It's one of the best things about you. But Riko and Luffy aren't Nicoll's main target," she moved his head so he was looking at her in the eye, "You are. So we need to really think this through,"

By this time, Sanji, Ace, Robin, and Shanks had caught up.

"Are we going?" Ace asked unaware of the change of pace, "Let's do this!" He was breathing deeply and pumped full of adrenaline.

Zoro looked up at everyone else, "If we rush in, I think more people will die. We need to come up with a plan."

Shanks breathed a sigh of relief, "Hallelujah!"

Robin giggled at Shanks' outburst.

Sanji and Ace exchanged glances and looked a little disappointed.

"I don't really have an idea though," Zoro confessed.

"Don't worry!" Autumn said before anyone else could speak, "I have a plan."

* * *

In Riko and Luffy's cell, they could hear a lot of movement on the top floors. The footsteps were heard everywhere, and just about all of them sounded fast and hard.  
Luffy was standing up at the door, trying to see how he could break it open. It was tight and thick and made of steel. He kicked it and punched at it until he was sure his hands and feet were bruised, and at that point, Riko had to pull him away.

"How do you expect us to live when both of us have broken hands and feet?" she tried to lighten the situation.

Luffy held his head in his hands, "Riko, I just really wanna get out of here. I feel so useless just sitting here,"

She rubbed his shoulders, "I know Luffy, I do too. We'll figure something out,"

Suddenly, the door was being unlocked and it opened. It was Carroll. What was he doing here? The last time Luffy and Riko saw him was at Zoro's place. Something pulled him back to Nicoll, but what?

"Get up. We're going upstairs," he said in a mundane and nonchalant tone.

Riko got up and walked over to him quietly. Luffy watched him closely.

Carroll held up a rope for Riko to put her hands in.

She didn't fight him.

When he saw her bandaged hand, his eyes still widened with slight guilt. He caught himself and tried to regain his composure. He tied her hands, but not too tightly.  
He did the same to Luffy before leading them upstairs. He led them to the Nave of the church. They sat on the very first bench. Nicoll was waiting for them, sitting on the stairs to the altar, facing them.

Luffy tightened his fists and grit his teeth trying not to get up and attack him.

"Hello you two," Nicoll said with a smile, "I bet you think you're going to win this no problem. But I am here to wipe away those thoughts, because chances are, you won't make it out of here alive."

"What makes _you_so sure?" Riko asked calmly.

Nicoll grinned and crouched down right in front of her, "Well, _you_ might not have to worry. You're kind of cute," he touched her face lightly.  
Riko cringed away.

"HANDS OFF ASSHOLE!" Luffy shouted and almost got up out of his seat, but Carroll was still in the room and shoved him back down.

"Ooh, touchy," Nicoll chuckled as he stood back up and centered himself between the two of them.

"You won't be smiling for long," Riko spit through her teeth.

"Oh really? Give me one reason why," he said slyly.

But before Riko could answer, there was a knock at the door of the nave and it opened immediately after.

Max's head poked through, "Phoenix! Autumn's back!"

Luffy cracked a small smile, "Phoenix? They call you that?" he laughed wholeheartedly; "Damn that's stupid,"

Nicoll gave him a dirty look but quickly turned his attention back to the door, "Autumn?"


	21. Chapter 21

**Wooo! I told you I'd get another chapter up here  
before the week was up! :D Anyway, I know it's  
kind of a short one, but it gets the ball rolling a little  
bit on the action. To be honest, I almost completely  
forgot about Milo's dilemma! Thanks to Fallon the Coyote Pirate  
for their review for chapter 18 that reminded me of it.  
Sooo I hope you like this chapter despite it's length!  
I hope you especially like the end ;)  
Another chapter is promised soon!  
-TAUN2013**

* * *

"Carroll, stay here," Nicoll started to head out to see exactly what was going on, "And don't let those two out of your sight."

Carroll nodded and stood in front of the stairs leading to the altar, facing the doors. He would occasionally glance over to where Luffy and Riko were sitting, still feeling guilty about shooting Riko in the hand. He didn't know why he felt that way. It honestly gave him headaches thinking about it.

Suddenly the doors of the Nave opened silently and very acutely. Milo slipped in and closed the door behind her.

"Milo?" Carroll hadn't seen her for almost two days, "Where have you been?"

"I needed some alone time," She said in a hushed tone.

"Why are you whispering?" Carroll asked.

Luffy could sense something was wrong, like she wasn't supposed to be here.

Riko leaned closer to Luffy and whispered in his ear, "Luffy, I don't feel good about this,"

He turned at looked at her, "I know, I don't feel good either. No matter what happens I won't let anything happen to you okay?"

Riko gave him a small smile, "Alright,"

Their attention turned back to Milo and Carroll.

"You know how Autumn's back?" Milo said a little bit louder.

Carroll nodded.

"Well she was talking to Nicoll, but now she wants to see you," Milo said sounding innocent.

"Really?" Carroll sounded but didn't look surprised, "And she sent _you_to tell me this?"

Milo put on a very fake insulted face, "You don't think I'm a good messenger?" She slowly shifted her hips and pouted slightly.

Now Riko and Luffy could see why she was seen as a little slut. Carroll, however, was unfazed, considering he had dealt with her everyday for a very long time.

"Alright," he turned his back and didn't look back until he reached the door and exited the Nave just as quietly as Milo entered.

She turned towards Riko and Luffy and reached behind her, pulling out the same Desert Eagle she had the night she set out to kill Riko.

Luffy immediately stood up in front of her, "Whatever the hell you came here to do, I'm not gonna make it easy for you,"

Milo smirked and cocked back her gun, "We'll see about that,"

* * *

"Okay so how is this supposed to work again?" Ace was growing impatient waiting outside the abandoned church.

Zoro sighed, "It was totally simple. We wait for the first gunshot, and after that, we storm in."

Ace nodded, "Gotcha,"

"How do we know it'll be Autumn's gun that shot first?" Robin asked.

"Why does it matter?" Sanji retorted as politely as possible.

Robin shrugged, "I suppose you're right,"

Shanks shifted in his spot, "I hope we all make it,"

"Hey," Zoro made sure everyone got his attention, "If anyone's dying today, it's me. I'm not losing my family,"

The tension in the air had disappeared for a moment between the five of them, and then suddenly, a single gun shot was fired, and a shrill scream followed that sent the five of them running up the stairs into the church. There was an eerie silence.

* * *

Carroll had just reached where Autumn and Nicoll were speaking when the gun shot had gone off.

"What the hell was that?" Nicoll looked around trying to find where the sound was coming from.

Autumn saw Carroll had entered the room and pulled out two Berettas from the back of her jeans and pointed one at Nicoll and one at Carroll, "Carroll, I've seen you toe the line between Nicoll and me. So what's it gonna be?"

Carroll looked between the two of them, noticing that Nicoll was staring straight down the barrel of Autumn's gun.

"Well?" Autumn was growing impatient.

"Milo's back. She's with Luffy and Riko in the Nave," Carroll didn't know what else to say, "That's where the shot came from,"

And another bullet fired.


	22. Chapter 22

**A new chapter!  
Hooray! I wanna keep you**** guys interested with more frequent updates so **here you go! Aren't you happy this one's waaay longer than the past two? :D Oh yes that is thanks to your beloved author, ME. lol jk. I made it longer because it's fullof intense stuff! But you know me, a little tease at the end seems to be the trademark of a lot of these chapters. At least it has been for the past few. But anyway, I hope you enjoy! I look forward to more reviews. New chapter within the next week ;D  
-TAUN2013

* * *

"Where is everyone?" Sanji asked slightly panicked.

"I don't understand," Zoro couldn't tell where anyone was or what had just happened.

Suddenly, footsteps came quickly around the hall. Everyone pointed their guns in the direction of the sound; waiting for the onslaught, but only Carroll and Nicoll came running, no guns were drawn. In fact, they didn't even notice the five guns pointed in their direction; and Autumn wasn't far behind.

"Autumn!" Zoro caught her attention, "What's going on? Didn't you fire a shot?"

Autumn shook her head, "No! It came from the Nave. That's where we're going," She nodded her head in the direction they were running and everyone followed.

* * *

Down the hall, everything seemed more amplified than it really was. Once everyone reached the doors, Carroll pulled both open, but he didn't step inside. He was too shocked at what he saw. Blood was pooling on the floor at the near front of the room. Two bodies lied motionless on the floor, and a third, Riko, was bending over what he assumed to be Luffy. She was crying a lot. She didn't even look up when the doors were opened.

"Who is that?" Nicoll looked beside Carroll's body, "The third body,"

Carroll barely whispered, "It's Milo,"

More footsteps came towards the group; Max, Reese, Jay, and a couple other thugs belonging to Nicoll's "family." But no one fired their guns. The air was heavy as Nicoll walked down the walkway of the Nave towards Milo's body.

When he reached her, the smell of blood overwhelmed him. But he could care less. He kneeled over her body and saw the gun in her hand. Finger still wrapped around the trigger. An entry and exit wound allowed for blood and brains to continue pouring out of her head. Aside from blood, tears were also dried on her cheeks.  
Nicoll felt anger flaring up inside him. Just like Zoro, he cared for his family. He slowly pulled out his own gun and turned around on his knees, pointing it at Riko.

"You killed her did you?" He yelled, "You killed her and made it look like suicide!"

Riko looked up at him, "What kind of sense does that make? And I shot my boyfriend too? Yeah, you really thought that through!" She sobbed and went back to Luffy, who was breathing shallowly and starting to lose consciousness.

"Luffy," She whispered, "Stay with me please!" Riko's tears splashed onto his chest.

He smiled weakly at her, "Don't worry," he held her hand, "She missed my heart, and I don't think she got any main arteries…I'll be fine. I love you Riko."

"We'll get to a hospital as soon as this is over, I promise," she kissed his hand, "I love you too, Luffy, so much…please don't die,"

* * *

Autumn saw his gun pointed at Riko and pulled out her own, aimed, and fired, shooting his gun right out of his hand, "Don't you dare,"

Sanji smirked, "Well, looks like the party's finally started." He turned around and shot one of the thugs in the shoulder, receiving back fire from him as well as Reese.

Bullets were flying. Everyone backed up away from each other, finding spots where they could seek shelter while reloading.

On the way, Ace got nicked on the shoulder, and Robin received a scratch on her cheek. But otherwise, everyone was alright.

Zolo made sure to keep close to the Nave so he could keep an eye on Autumn. After all, it wasn't just her life in danger anymore.

* * *

Autumn ran down the walkway and kicked Nicoll's gun out of his reach before he could crawl to it, "No fucking way are going to hurt anyone else in this family,"

"Did you forget who you're bother is!" Nicoll stood up and screamed at her.

"You stopped being my brother when you tried to control me and become dad!" She screamed back.

Nicoll snapped and punched her right in the jaw, hearing a crack and then trying to run for the entrance to the Nave. Autumn got to the door quicker and blocked his way.

"No way you're leaving, I'm not done with you," She spit through her teeth as she roundhouse kicked him on the side of his face, knocking him in between two of the pews.

He spit out blood onto the floor and rose up just as she jumped to tackle him back to the ground. He ducked just in time and she rolled onto the other side.

"Alright, I'll play with you for a little bit sister. Don't expect me to play nice though," he smirked, taking a defensive stance.

She chuckled, "Don't worry about not playing nice. I'll beat you anyway,"

"We'll see." He retorted as she ran at him.

He blocked her punches to his face and went in for a kick to her legs. Autumn jumped and tried for a kick to his stomach, but he pulled back before she could touch him. He landed a punch in her face again, but was given back a twisted arm and throw to the ground. She was about to kick his head into the ground but he rolled out of the way just fast enough. While her foot was still down, Nicoll put his hands on the floor and kicked up at her, landing his foot at the pit of her stomach. It knocked the wind out of her and she fell to the ground in front of him and couldn't move. Time seemed to stand still. She saw Nicoll slowly rise in front of her.

"You said to not worry about playing nice. I never intended to anyway," he pulled out a second gun from his jeans and pointed it at her face, "I never thought I'd have to kill one of my own, but you've proved to be more of a problem to keep around. Goodbye Autumn,"

She closed her eyes, ready to die, but when she heard the gun shot, she opened her eyes to find herself unscathed, and Nicoll falling to the ground as Zoro dropped his gun and knelt down to her.

"Autumn, your stomach," tears were in his eyes as he put one of his hands behind her back and lifted her up, "I'm sorry I couldn't stop him sooner."

She looked up at him and gripped his shirt, "Zoro," She couldn't comprehend the emotions she was feeling. Her brother was dead, and she was close to it, before Zoro saved her. But one life couldn't be determined as exterminated or saved just yet.


	23. Chapter 23

**Hello everyone. Another chapter at the end of the week! Sorry I couldn't get it in sooner. I have become strangely busy in the last few days. But I am sad to say that this lovely tale has almost come to its end. I can promise you one, maybe two chapters. But most likely one. I love all of you and am sooo glad that you have stuck with me. I hope you enjoy this chapter! And I hope you don't think it's too short. I promise to get up the next (and probably final) chapter sometime next week. Thanks again. I'll update soon. :)  
-TAUN2013 **

* * *

The walls and ceiling and floors were the same, stark, off-white. The tiles and ceiling panels almost glowed, in a very sick way, under the fluorescent lighting. Beeps, clicks, and ringing were all constantly heard in the halls and it was getting on Zoro's nerves.

"Would you sit down already?" Autumn smiled at him from her bed, "You've been pacing like that ever since we got here,"

Zoro sighed, "I know," he sat down in one of the chairs placed against the wall of the unit, "I'm just nervous about what the doctor will say,"

Autumn's smile faded from her face, "Yeah, me too."

There was a strange silence for a few seconds.

"Hey," Autumn caught his attention again, "Why don't you go check on Luffy?"

* * *

Luffy sat up in his bed. Part of his chest and shoulder was bandaged up where he was shot. Riko sat next to him on his bed, her head resting on his undamaged shoulder.

"I was so scared, Luffy," Riko held his hand tightly.

He smiled, "Well, there's nothing to be scared of now," he kissed her forehead.

Riko's thoughts went back to what happened at the church.

After Zoro killed Nicoll, all the fighting stopped. It was dead silent. Zoro picked up Autumn in his arms and motioned for Riko to follow. She put Luffy's good arm over her shoulder and started walking with him. Ace went to help Riko while Sanji and Robin kept their eyes and guns locked on the rest of Nicoll's "family." But when they saw that Nicoll was dead, they didn't know what to do. They dropped their guns and ran off. Even Carroll left. God knows where they ended up. Robin and Sanji sheathed their weapons and walked out with everyone else. Then, they walked to the hospital.

"And here we are," Riko whispered to herself.  
"What was that?" Luffy asked.

Riko looked up at him, "Oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself,"

Luffy leaned back and saw Zoro enter their doorway, "Hey Zoro,"

Riko looked at him, "Zoro," she sat up, "What happened? What did the doctor say?"

Zoro shrugged, "She kicked me out before he came back,"

Luffy smirked, "Nice," but his smile faded fast, "Everything will work out Zoro,"

Zoro looked at him sadly.

Luffy smiled sympathetically, "I know it will,"

* * *

"So what are you saying?" Autumn asked the doctor, slightly confused.

"We can't find a baby in the scans at all," he said looking them over again. He shook his head and gave her a clueless look, "I'm sorry. I don't know how to explain this at all,"

"You double checked?" Autumn almost got up out of the bed.

He nodded and sighed, "Yes. I'm sorry," he said again, "Other than that, you seem to be alright. I'll get your discharge papers in order," he said coldly and left.

Autumn leaned back in the bed. She couldn't believe that there wasn't a baby at all. Did she just trick herself into thinking she had one? Thinking back, she couldn't even remember taking a pregnancy test. But then, what were those days of morning sickness? Was it all in her head? All this made her feel overwhelmed. She began to cry, tucking her legs up and folding her arms on her knees and placing her head on them. How could she be so naive? And how would she tell Zoro? She didn't even notice when he came back in the room.

Zoro saw her crying and automatically assumed the worst. He strode over to her bedside and sat on the edge of the bed, holding her.

"Autumn, it's alright," he was doing his best not to start crying himself, "We'll get through this,"

"It's not what you think," Autumn said in between sobs.

"Then, what is it?" Zoro said quietly. Were these tears of joy? He didn't know what to think.

She lifted her head up and looked at him, "They're saying I was never pregnant."

* * *

"What?" Luffy exclaimed, extremely disappointed in what the doctor was telling him.

"Unless you wait at least six months, certain activities and eating too much of certain foods can cause the wound to rupture from the raised blood pressure and heart rate," She explained calmly for the second time.

"So I have to cut down on meat _and _eliminate sex for the next six months?" Luffy was almost at the brink of tears.

Riko smiled at him, "Luffy, it's okay," she squeezed his hand.

He looked at her, "Are you kidding? I'm going to basically be tortured for the next six months!"

"At least," The doctor added again.

Riko couldn't help but giggle.

"This is so not funny," he muttered and then turned back to the doctor, "No masturbation either?"

The doctor was slightly taken aback by the question, "Probably not,"

"Dammit!" Luffy ran his fingers through his hair, "When can I get out of here?"

"We have a few more tests to run, you'll be out by tonight," she said before leaving.

"I'm sorry Luffy," Riko kissed his cheek.

Luffy sighed, "Don't worry about it," he smiled and pecked her lips, "You better be ready in six months though," he smirked.

Riko blushed and grinned, "Can't wait,"

Luffy leaned back, "It's gonna be a long six months,"


End file.
